Four arrested in Sarasota youth football fight

Published: Friday, September 2, 2011 at 4:58 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, September 2, 2011 at 4:58 p.m.

SARASOTA COUNTY - The parent who captured video footage of the now-infamous youth football brawl last Saturday missed the first punch.

As it turns out, authorities now say, it was the referee who threw it.

Jayme Ream's punch — not captured on the video that went viral on the Web — knocked down Sarasota Gators coach Dexter Austin and sparked the bench-emptying brawl that followed. But Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight said Ream was legally defending himself.

Ream merely "stood his ground," as he was being threatened, Knight said.

"Mr. Austin assaulted him and threw a water bottle at him and was charging him when he defended himself," Knight said.

On Friday, Knight announced that three Gators coaches — including Austin — and a Gators player had been charged with felony counts of battery on a sports official.

Meanwhile Ream, 41, delivered a prepared statement to a throng of media from the offices of his Pinellas Park lawyer who specializes in personal injury claims.

Authorities said Ream, a referee for 14 years, suffered a fractured shoulder in the melee that ensued. A coach from the opposing team who tried to break up the fight was also sore and possibly injured.

"Unfortunately, I believe this situation involves people that let their emotions overcome them," Ream said in the statement. "It is my hope that the many players and their families who were not involved in this behavior continue to enjoy the sport of football ... I would also like to encourage all children and parents in youth sports to continue to show good sportsmanship."

The video of the fight was featured on the national morning TV talk shows and CNN News on Friday, and was a hot topic for radio sports networks.

Detectives used the footage to identify coaches Dexter Austin, 43, Timothy Howard, 38 and Antonio Bradley, 28, along with the player, a 14-year-old boy who wore jersey No. 6, who tackled Ream and then stood over him.

Knight said the only defendant who did not seem sorry about his role in the fight was the man who started it.

Austin, an assistant coach with the Gators, "doesn't seem to be too remorseful," Knight said.

The Gators organization apologized for the incident in a statement and indicated all those involved would be banned from the league.

"As coaches of youth athletics, we are placed in a position of trust to be mentors and role models for the young boys and girls we work with," the statement read. "A few individuals betrayed that trust and forgot the purpose of youth sports and, in the process, let a lot of people down."

According to arrest documents:

The Gators coaching staff — irritated with game officials for what they viewed as unfair calls — began to curse and yell at the referees in the final minutes of the game's first half.

Gators coaches Howard and Bradley, and the 14-year-old wearing shoulder pads and no helmet, charged the field after Ream's punch knocked Austin down.

Bradley punched Ream as the player closed in and tackled him.

Once he was on the ground, Ream defended himself by kicking.

Howard jumped on top of Ream and pummeled him. Austin got back in the mix with a kick to Ream's shoulder.

Two Gators coaches, including Austin's brother, Eddie Austin, joined North Port coaches in trying to stop the fight.

A North Port coach also stepped in and dragged Dexter Austin away but that coach was then assaulted by Howard.

Howard tackled the coach and put him in a choke hold until bystanders tore him away.

Dexter Austin, accompanied by a lawyer, was interviewed by Sheriff's detectives on Wednesday. He said he was assaulted and denied striking Ream.

Howard's response to the allegations was redacted from the arrest report.

Howard could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. Howard's brother, Willie, said he has been a youth football coach for 10 years and has played semi-pro football in the Sarasota area.

"He was really hurt about the situation, and he's real sorry about it," Willie Howard said.

Both Bradley and Howard have several prior arrests.

Bradley, who lives in North Port, served three years in state prison after being convicted of selling crack cocaine in 2007. He was released from prison last August.

Howard was sentenced to a year in Sarasota County jail in 1999, court records show, after police found more than an ounce of crack cocaine in an apartment he shared with Eddie Austin, the president of the Gators football team.

Both Howard and Eddie Austin were convicted of drug possession with intent to sell.

Officials from the Mid-Florida Football and Cheerleading Conference said background checks had turned up the criminal records of several Gators coaches, including Eddie Austin.

If the crimes had been related to child abuse or illicit sex, the league would not have admitted them as coaches, said Mid-Florida executive vice president Michael Wilson.

The conference's executive committee gave them a chance, partly because some of the charges were more than a decade old and the men said they had turned their lives around, Wilson said.

Dexter Austin has no prior convictions in Florida, state records show.

A gifted athlete, he played receiver and running back for the strong Cardinal Mooney High School football teams of the mid-1980s. He was recruited by the University of Florida, but did not have the grades to qualify academically. Austin was recently named No. 49 in the Herald-Tribune's list of Sarasota County's Top 100 all-time football players.

<p><em>SARASOTA COUNTY</em> - The parent who captured video footage of the now-infamous youth football brawl last Saturday missed the first punch.</p><p>As it turns out, authorities now say, it was the referee who threw it.</p><p>Jayme Ream's punch — not captured on the video that went viral on the Web — knocked down Sarasota Gators coach Dexter Austin and sparked the bench-emptying brawl that followed. But Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight said Ream was legally defending himself.</p><p>Ream merely "stood his ground," as he was being threatened, Knight said.</p><p>"Mr. Austin assaulted him and threw a water bottle at him and was charging him when he defended himself," Knight said.</p><p>On Friday, Knight announced that three Gators coaches — including Austin — and a Gators player had been charged with felony counts of battery on a sports official.</p><p>Meanwhile Ream, 41, delivered a prepared statement to a throng of media from the offices of his Pinellas Park lawyer who specializes in personal injury claims.</p><p>Authorities said Ream, a referee for 14 years, suffered a fractured shoulder in the melee that ensued. A coach from the opposing team who tried to break up the fight was also sore and possibly injured.</p><p>"Unfortunately, I believe this situation involves people that let their emotions overcome them," Ream said in the statement. "It is my hope that the many players and their families who were not involved in this behavior continue to enjoy the sport of football ... I would also like to encourage all children and parents in youth sports to continue to show good sportsmanship."</p><p>The video of the fight was featured on the national morning TV talk shows and CNN News on Friday, and was a hot topic for radio sports networks.</p><p>Detectives used the footage to identify coaches Dexter Austin, 43, Timothy Howard, 38 and Antonio Bradley, 28, along with the player, a 14-year-old boy who wore jersey No. 6, who tackled Ream and then stood over him.</p><p>Knight said the only defendant who did not seem sorry about his role in the fight was the man who started it.</p><p>Austin, an assistant coach with the Gators, "doesn't seem to be too remorseful," Knight said.</p><p>The Gators organization apologized for the incident in a statement and indicated all those involved would be banned from the league.</p><p>"As coaches of youth athletics, we are placed in a position of trust to be mentors and role models for the young boys and girls we work with," the statement read. "A few individuals betrayed that trust and forgot the purpose of youth sports and, in the process, let a lot of people down."</p><p>According to arrest documents:</p><p>The Gators coaching staff — irritated with game officials for what they viewed as unfair calls — began to curse and yell at the referees in the final minutes of the game's first half. </p><p>Gators coaches Howard and Bradley, and the 14-year-old wearing shoulder pads and no helmet, charged the field after Ream's punch knocked Austin down.</p><p>Bradley punched Ream as the player closed in and tackled him.</p><p>Once he was on the ground, Ream defended himself by kicking.</p><p>Howard jumped on top of Ream and pummeled him. Austin got back in the mix with a kick to Ream's shoulder.</p><p>Two Gators coaches, including Austin's brother, Eddie Austin, joined North Port coaches in trying to stop the fight.</p><p>A North Port coach also stepped in and dragged Dexter Austin away but that coach was then assaulted by Howard.</p><p>Howard tackled the coach and put him in a choke hold until bystanders tore him away.</p><p>Dexter Austin, accompanied by a lawyer, was interviewed by Sheriff's detectives on Wednesday. He said he was assaulted and denied striking Ream.</p><p>Howard's response to the allegations was redacted from the arrest report.</p><p>Howard could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. Howard's brother, Willie, said he has been a youth football coach for 10 years and has played semi-pro football in the Sarasota area.</p><p>"He was really hurt about the situation, and he's real sorry about it," Willie Howard said.</p><p>Both Bradley and Howard have several prior arrests.</p><p>Bradley, who lives in North Port, served three years in state prison after being convicted of selling crack cocaine in 2007. He was released from prison last August.</p><p>Howard was sentenced to a year in Sarasota County jail in 1999, court records show, after police found more than an ounce of crack cocaine in an apartment he shared with Eddie Austin, the president of the Gators football team.</p><p>Both Howard and Eddie Austin were convicted of drug possession with intent to sell.</p><p>Officials from the Mid-Florida Football and Cheerleading Conference said background checks had turned up the criminal records of several Gators coaches, including Eddie Austin.</p><p>If the crimes had been related to child abuse or illicit sex, the league would not have admitted them as coaches, said Mid-Florida executive vice president Michael Wilson.</p><p>The conference's executive committee gave them a chance, partly because some of the charges were more than a decade old and the men said they had turned their lives around, Wilson said.</p><p>Dexter Austin has no prior convictions in Florida, state records show.</p><p>A gifted athlete, he played receiver and running back for the strong Cardinal Mooney High School football teams of the mid-1980s. He was recruited by the University of Florida, but did not have the grades to qualify academically. Austin was recently named No. 49 in the Herald-Tribune's list of Sarasota County's Top 100 all-time football players.</p><p><pic></p><p><null></p>